Pharmacists Will Get a Heads-Up on DTC Ads

OCTOBER 01, 2005

Ken Rankin

US drug manufacturers have agreed
to provide pharmacists, physicians,
and other health care professionals
with specialized education about new
prescription medicines before launching
any direct-to-consumer (DTC)
advertising for those products.

The new arrangement is part of a
series of voluntary industry guidelines
covering DTC prescription ads that are
set to take effect on January 1, 2006.

The guidelines, issued by the Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers
of America (PhRMA), require member
companies to "spend an appropriate
amount of time to educate health professionals"
about new drugs before promoting
them to the general public.

The PhRMA guidelines also call on
manufacturers to submit all new DTC
ads to the FDA for approval before dissemination,
and to ensure that all
future DTC ads "clearly state the health
conditions for which the medicine is
approved and the major risks associated"
with the product. Additionally,
PhRMA announced plans to establish a
new "Office of Accountability" to
receive and report on comments about
DTC ads from pharmacists, physicians,
and the general public.